Summer: Batista's forces launch a last, unsuccessful push against a small guerrilla army led by Fidel castro and based in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra. January 1: Revolutionary leader ...

October 16, 1953 – Castro is sentenced to 15 years in prison. May 15, 1955 – Fidel and Raul Castro are released as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners. They go into exile in Mexico.

VIDEO PREVIEW: Leadership in a nuclear world [opens in a new window] Key players: Cuban leader Fidel Castro (top left), Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (bottom left) and U.S. President John F.